Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark

Mark 5, 21–43

²¹Jesus having crossed the sea again in the boat, as he was near the shore, a large crowd gathered around him. ²²Then came one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, who, upon seeing him, fell at his feet., ²³and begged him earnestly, saying, «My daughter is dying; come, lay your hand on her, so that she can be healed and live.» ²⁴And he went with him, and a great multitude followed him and pressed around him. ²⁵Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years, ²⁶She had suffered greatly from several doctors and spent all her money, and far from experiencing any relief, she had seen her illness worsen. ²⁷Having heard about Jesus, she came into the crowd and touched the back of his cloak. ²⁸For she said, "If I only touch his clothes, I will be healed." ²⁹The flow of blood stopped immediately and she felt in her body that she was cured of her infirmity. ³⁰At that moment, Jesus knew within himself that power had gone out from him, and turning around in the midst of the crowd, he said, "Who touched my clothes?"" ³¹His disciples said to him, «You see the crowd pressing around you on all sides, and you ask, 'Who touched me?'» ³²And he looked around to see who had touched him. ³³This woman, trembling with fear, knowing what had happened to her, came and threw herself at his feet and told him the whole truth. ³⁴Jesus said to her, «Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace and be healed of your infirmity.» ³⁵He was still speaking when someone came from the synagogue leader's house and told him, "Your daughter is dead; why burden the teacher any further?"" ³⁶But when Jesus heard this, he said to the synagogue leader, «Do not be afraid; just believe.» ³⁷And he did not allow anyone to accompany him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. ³⁸We arrive at the house of the synagogue leader and there he sees a confused group of people weeping and shouting loudly. ³⁹He went in and said to them, "Why all the noise and crying? The child is not dead, but asleep."" ⁴⁰And they mocked him. But he, having put them all out, took with him the child's father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went into the place where the child was lying. ⁴¹And taking her hand, he said to her, "Talitha qoumi," which means, "Young girl, get up, I tell you." ⁴²Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old, and they were struck with amazement. ⁴³And Jesus strongly forbade them to tell anyone, then he told them to give the girl something to eat.

At that time, Jesus crossed the lake again in a boat. A large crowd gathered around him on the shore. A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived. As soon as he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet and begged him earnestly, «My little daughter is dying. Please come and lay your hands on her so that she may be healed and live.» Jesus went with him, followed by such a large crowd that they were pushing and shoving him. In the crowd was a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years. She had consulted many doctors, who had caused her much pain. She had spent all her money, yet without any improvement—on the contrary, her condition had worsened. When she heard about Jesus, she slipped behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. She said to herself, «If I only touch his clothes, I will be healed.» Immediately her bleeding stopped. She felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At that very moment, Jesus perceived that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, «Who touched my clothes?» His disciples answered him, «You see this crowd pressing around you, and yet you ask who touched you?» But Jesus kept looking for the woman who had done it. Then the woman, trembling with fear and aware of what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him the whole truth. Jesus said to her, «Daughter, your faith in me has healed you. Go in peace; you are freed from your suffering.» While he was still speaking, messengers arrived from Jairus« house with the news, »Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher any further.« But when Jesus heard this, he said to the synagogue leader, »Do not be afraid; just trust me.« He did not allow anyone to accompany him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. They arrived at Jairus's house. Jesus saw the commotion and heard the loud weeping and wailing. He went in and said to them, »Why all this noise and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.« They laughed at him. Then he put them all out, taking with him only the child's parents and his three disciples, and went into the room where the girl was lying. He took her by the hand and said to her, »Talitha koum,« which means, »Little girl, I say to you, get up!” Immediately the girl got up and began to walk around—she was twelve years old. They were all utterly amazed. Jesus strictly ordered them not to tell anyone, and then told them to give the girl something to eat.

When Jesus raises up: the faith that heals and resurrects

A dual encounter where trust breaks down exclusion and gives life back to the forgotten..

Are you seeking to understand how Jesus radically transforms desperate situations? This story from Mark reveals the power of a faith that dares to touch the untouchable and awaken the sleeping. Two women, one sick for twelve years, the other twelve years old and dying, teach us that true healing begins when we dare to believe against all logic.

• How Mark's literary structure frames two miracles to reveal their profound meaning
• Why the touch and the word of Jesus restore wounded humanity
• Theological resonances with patristic tradition and liturgy
• Concrete ways to live out this saving faith today

A dual narrative at the heart of Jesus' mission

The evangelist Mark offers us here a literary masterpiece: a story within a story, a narrative technique where one story is inserted within another. Jesus crosses the Sea of Galilee and reaches the other shore. The crowd awaits him, eager for his teachings and his displays of power. It is in this context that Jairus, the synagogue leader and a respected figure in the Jewish community, appears.

His official title contrasts sharply with his demeanor: he falls at Jesus' feet, abandoning all social dignity to plead earnestly. His twelve-year-old daughter is dying. Time is running out. Jairus's plea is direct and moving: "Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be healed and live." Note the twofold request: salvation and life, two dimensions that Mark intimately links.

Jesus immediately agrees. But then his path is interrupted. An anonymous woman, suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years, weaves her way through the dense crowd. Her condition renders her ritually impure according to Mosaic Law. Every touch she makes defiles others. Yet she dares. She touches Jesus' garment from behind, hoping to go unnoticed.

The healing is instantaneous. But Jesus stops. He feels that a "power" has gone out from him. He looks around. The pragmatic disciples point out the absurdity of his question in the crushing crowd. But Jesus persists. The woman, trembling, reveals herself. She tells "the whole truth." Jesus looks at her, calls her "my daughter," and proclaims: "Your faith has healed you."«

Meanwhile, Jairus's situation worsens. Messengers arrive: "Your daughter has just died." All seems lost. But Jesus, "overhearing these words," interrupts the death sentence with a word of hope: "Do not be afraid; only believe." The verb "believe," in the present continuous tense, suggests a trust to be maintained despite the evidence.

Jesus dismissed the crowd, keeping only three disciples: Peter, James, and John, privileged witnesses to his future transfiguration. At Jairus's house, a somber atmosphere already prevailed. Jesus claimed the child was asleep, provoking mockery. He sent everyone out, keeping only the parents and his three companions. In the privacy of the burial chamber, he took the child's hand. He said in Aramaic, "Talitha koum," "Little girl, get up."«

The effect was immediate. The young girl stood up and walked. Astonishment gripped the witnesses. Jesus, ever pragmatic, ordered them to be silent and asked that they give her something to eat. This final detail anchored the miracle in reality: she was not a ghost, but a living child in need of food.

The double healing reveals the overall salvation offered by Jesus.

Mark structures his narrative with a precise theological intention. The parallel between the two women is immediately striking: one has suffered for twelve years, the other is twelve years old. Both are called "daughter" by Jesus. Both are affected by exclusion: ritual impurity for the woman with the hemorrhage, death for Jairus' daughter. Both are "saved" by Jesus' intervention.

This structure reveals a comprehensive vision of salvation. The woman with the hemorrhage represents humanity wounded by time, worn down by years of suffering, and impoverished by ineffective care. Her illness excludes her from liturgical and communal life. She is socially dead before she is physically dead. Jairus, despite his high position, is equally powerless in the face of the death that threatens his daughter. Religious and social power are powerless against illness and death.

Jesus breaks down these two forms of exclusion. For the woman, he transforms a clandestine act into public recognition. She wanted to slip into anonymity, to take without being seen. Jesus forces her to step out of the shadows. It is not a punishment, but a liberation. By calling her "my daughter," he reintegrates her into the human and divine family. Her healing is not only physical: it is social, relational, and spiritual.

For Jairus' daughter, Jesus directly confronts death. It's worth noting that Mark tells us she "had just died" during his encounter with the woman suffering from the hemorrhage. This precise timing is significant: the delay caused by the initial healing allowed her death to occur. Some might see this as a fault on Jesus' part, a fatal delay. But Mark suggests instead that this delay is part of God's plan. Jesus doesn't simply heal a dying woman; he raises a dead woman from the dead. The miracle is greater, the faith required more profound.

The word "salvation" (sozo in Greek) appears for both women. This term, rich in biblical Hebrew, transcends mere physical healing. It evokes complete deliverance, the restoration of the whole being. When Jesus says, "Your faith has saved you," he is not speaking only of bodily healing. He is announcing an existential transformation. The woman with the hemorrhage receives not only a healed body, but a restored identity. Jairus's daughter regains not only biological life, but her place in the community and in the future that lies before her.

Faith emerges as the guiding thread. For the woman, it is a bold faith that defies social taboos. For Jairus, it is a persevering faith that refuses to give in to despair when all seems lost. Jesus does not ask for perfect faith, but for a faith that dares, that takes risks, that perseveres despite the contrary evidence. This faith does not manipulate God: it recognizes in Jesus the source of life capable of transforming any situation.

Faith that dares to touch: breaking down the barriers of exclusion

The woman with the hemorrhage act is revolutionary. According to Leviticus 15, anyone touched by a woman during a period of bleeding becomes ritually impure. This impurity is not moral, but ritual: it temporarily excludes one from worship and normal social life. This woman, however, has been suffering for twelve years. She therefore lives in a state of permanent exclusion, a social death that precedes physical death.

Her act of touching Jesus' garment was doubly transgressive. First, she mingled with the crowd, risking ritually contaminating dozens of people. Second, she touched an itinerant rabbi, rendering him also ritually impure. If her actions were discovered before the healing, she would face public condemnation, even violence. Her calculation was simple: touch and disappear, be healed without being recognized.

But Jesus doesn't see it that way. His question, "Who touched me?" forces the woman out of the shadows. This public exposure might seem cruel. In reality, it is liberating. As long as the healing remains secret, the woman remains a prisoner of her fear and shame. By compelling her to testify, Jesus offers her complete healing: not only is her body restored, but her honor as well. Before everyone, he proclaims that her faith is praiseworthy, that her action was not an impure violation but an act of trust.

The contrast with the doctors she consulted is striking. Mark notes that she "had suffered greatly under the treatment of many doctors." These professionals, despite their expertise, impoverished her without curing her. On the contrary, her condition worsened. Jesus, however, heals instantly and freely. Moreover, he does not simply heal: he restores dignity. Ancient medicine could treat the body; only Jesus heals the whole person.

The term «my daughter,» which Jesus uses, is laden with affection and theological significance. In a Jewish context, calling someone «my son» or «my daughter» expresses a filial relationship, an adoption into the family of God. Jesus does not see this woman as an anonymous invalid or an impure sinner, but as a daughter of God to be restored. This title anticipates the filial relationship that all the baptized will have with the Father through Christ.

The dimension of the "power" emanating from Jesus deserves attention. Mark uses the term dynamis, which refers to divine power in action. Jesus is not a miracle worker manipulating magical forces. Healing is not automatic, triggered by mere physical contact, as if Jesus were a talisman. The "power" emanating from him is the saving power of God responding to faith. Without the woman's faith, simply touching his garment would have produced nothing. Hundreds of people in the crowd touch him: only the one who touches him with faith is healed.

The word that brings back to life: overcoming death through trust

While the woman with the hemorrhage is healed through touch, Jairus' daughter receives healing through the word. This complementarity is not insignificant. Jesus heals in many ways: through the word, through touch, through his gaze, through the mud mixed with his saliva. This diversity reminds us that salvation is not limited to a single formula. God meets each person according to their particular situation.

For Jairus, the challenge was immense. When the messengers announced his daughter's death, they added, "Why bother the Master any longer?" This remark reveals a limited view of Jesus: good at healing the sick, powerless against the dead. This was the common opinion of the time. Even John the Baptist, from his prison cell, had asked Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" The resurrection of the dead belongs to the future Messianic era, not the present.

Jesus «overhears» these words. The Greek verb used suggests that he intercepts them, that he hears them but refuses to accept them. He does not let the death sentence have the final say. His words to Jairus are a command: «Do not be afraid; only believe.» This twofold injunction articulates faith as an antidote to fear. Fear is natural in the face of death. But it paralyzes, it traps us in despair. Faith, on the contrary, opens a space of possibility even when everything seems closed.

The selection of the three disciples (Peter, James, and John) was not a whim. These three would be privileged witnesses to the Transfiguration and the agony in Gethsemane. Mark thus constructs a trajectory: they see Jesus first overcome the death of a child, then they will see him transfigured in his glory, and finally they will see him struggle against his own death. These three moments prepare their faith for the final resurrection of Jesus.

The somber commotion Jesus finds at the house is typical of Jewish mourning at the time. The professional mourners, the ritual wailing—the whole spectacle of death is already in place. Jesus declares, «The child is not dead but asleep.» This statement provokes mockery. Yet, Jesus speaks the truth. From the perspective of the one who can rise again, death is merely sleep. Paul will later use this image when speaking of deceased Christians as «those who have fallen asleep.».

Jesus puts everyone out. This radical gesture creates a space of intimacy. The resurrection is not a spectacle for the unbelieving crowd. It unfolds in secret, before only those witnesses capable of grasping the mystery. The father, the mother, and the three disciples form a small circle, a micro-community of faith.

The «Talitha koum» spoken by Jesus is preserved in Aramaic by Mark. This Aramaic, Jesus« native language, resonates like a creative word. God says »Let there be light« in Genesis, and light appears. Jesus says »Get up,” and the dead woman gets up. The effective word of Christ extends the creative word of the Father. To raise from the dead is not to revive a corpse: it is to recreate, to give new life.

Living today the faith that saves and restores

These two interwoven stories speak directly to us. We all know situations of exclusion, chronic suffering, and impending death. How can we concretely live out the faith that Jesus asks of the woman with the hemorrhage and of Jairus?

In our relationships, let's begin by acknowledging our own wounds. We all carry wounds that bleed silently: relational, professional, spiritual. Perhaps a failure that has haunted us for years, a hurtful word never healed, a guilt that gnaws at us. These wounds exhaust us, impoverish us, isolate us. The first step of faith is recognizing that we need healing, that we cannot heal ourselves.

Next, let us dare to take the step of touching Jesus. This can be done through prayer, the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and reconciliation. The "garment" of Jesus that we can touch today is his humanity present in the ecclesial community, in the poor, in the proclaimed Word. To touch with faith means to approach with confidence, despite our unworthiness, convinced that Jesus welcomes and heals.

In our parental, educational, or professional responsibilities, Jairus's attitude is inspiring. When a situation seems hopeless—a child dropping out of school, a project failing, a relationship dying—we are tempted by discouragement. "What's the point of going on?" Christ tells us, "Do not be afraid; only believe." This faith is not naivety. It accepts reality as it is while refusing to let it have the last word.

Faced with inevitable grief, the narrative offers us a Paschal perspective. The physical death of our loved ones crushes us. We cannot deny it. But Christ invites us to see beyond. If Jesus can raise Jairus' daughter from the dead, he can raise all those we love. Death is but a sleep for those who believe in the final resurrection. This hope does not eliminate the pain of mourning, but it opens it onto a horizon of eternity.

In our Christian communities, these stories call for a welcoming Church. How many "hemorrhaging" people are hiding in our congregations? How many feel impure, unworthy, excluded? Jesus rejects no one. He brings them out of the shadows, he calls them "my daughter," he restores their dignity. Our parishes and prayer groups must become places where the wounded can dare to touch without fear of rejection.

Touch and speech in the patristic tradition

The Church Fathers meditated on these stories with profound insight. Saint Augustine saw in the woman with the hemorrhage a figure of sinful humanity losing its spiritual vitality. The hemorrhage symbolizes sin that exhausts the soul. To touch Christ is to receive the grace that halts the deadly flow of sin and restores divine life within us.

Saint Cyril of Alexandria comments on the "Talitha koum" by linking it to the Resurrection. The twelve-year-old girl represents Israel, which should be at the age of spiritual maturity (twelve, the number of the tribes), but which is spiritually dead. Jesus comes to raise it up. This interpretation extends to all humanity, asleep in spiritual death before the coming of Christ.

Saint Ephrem the Syrian emphasizes the tenderness of Jesus. By saying "Talitha," an affectionate term for "little girl," Jesus reveals his fatherly heart. He does not coldly command a corpse to come back to life. He lovingly calls a child to awaken. This divine tenderness pervades all of Scripture: God speaks to his people with words of love, patience, and hope.

Origen, in his homilies, develops the idea that Jesus puts the crowd outside to teach that divine mysteries are revealed not to mockers but to believers. The resurrection of Jairus' daughter foreshadows the resurrection of Christ, which was seen only by chosen witnesses, not by the crowds who had crucified him.

The Latin liturgy has preserved this narrative in the readings for Masses for the dead and for celebrating Divine Mercy. The ancient Roman Missal used the "Talitha koum" in the rites of exorcism and blessing, signifying that baptism is a resurrection, a awakening from the death of sin to the life of grace.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church cites these miracles to illustrate that Jesus has power over sickness and death, signs of his divinity. It also notes that faith is always necessary: Jesus does not perform miracles to dazzle, but to awaken and strengthen faith. Miracles are "signs," a Johannine term that also applies well to the Synoptic Gospels: they point beyond themselves to the profound identity of Jesus as Lord of life.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, in his *Golden Chain*, compiles patristic commentaries on this passage. He emphasizes that Jesus touches the hand of the dead child to show that he does not fear impurity. On the contrary, it is his purity that sanctifies what he touches. Whereas according to the Law, touching a dead person renders one impure, with Jesus the logic is reversed: it is life that contaminates death, holiness that purifies impurity.

Lectio divina

Meditating and praying with this passage: a three-step approach

To spiritually integrate this dual narrative, let us propose a structured meditation.

First step: Identify my bleeding (10 minutes)

Sit quietly. Breathe deeply. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you the "hemorrhages" in your life: these energy leaks, these unhealed wounds that drain you. Write them down, either mentally or in writing. What chronic suffering have you been carrying for months, for years? What relationships are draining you? What failures haunt you? Acknowledge them before God without judgment, with humility.

Second step: Touching Christ's garment (10 minutes)

Imagine yourself in the crowd pressing against Jesus. You want to touch him. You move forward with difficulty. You feel unworthy, impure. But you dare nonetheless. Visualize your hand reaching out for his garment. The moment you touch him, feel a warmth, a peace that fills you. The bleeding stops. Life returns. Jesus turns, looks at you with love, and says, «Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.» Welcome this look and these words.

Third step: Hearing the "stand up"« (10 minutes)

Now, identify a "dead" situation in your life. Perhaps an abandoned dream, a hopeless broken relationship, an aspect of yourself you've buried. Imagine Jesus entering the room of this death. He dismisses the mocking voices ("It's impossible, there's no point in going on"). He takes your hand. He says your name followed by "Get up!" Feel the power of these words. Let yourself be lifted up. Walk. Come back to life. Give thanks.

Addressing contemporary challenges

Some object that these stories are pious legends, exaggerations from a credulous era. How can we take miraculous healings and resurrections seriously today?

Let's answer with nuance. First, Mark writes as a historian. He cites witnesses, concrete details (the name of Jairus, the twelve years, the "Talitha koum" in Aramaic). He doesn't seek to embellish. He recounts events that marked the early community. To deny the possibility of miracles is to assume a priori that the universe is a closed system where God cannot intervene. But if God exists and if Jesus is his Son, why couldn't God act in his creation?

Furthermore, the miracles of healing and resurrection are not meant to impress. They are "signs" of the coming Kingdom. Jesus announces a new world where sickness and death will no longer have the final say. His miracles are foretastes, anticipations of this future reality. They demonstrate that the Kingdom of God is "already here" while "not yet" fully realized.

Others will say, «If Jesus could heal and raise people from the dead, why doesn’t he always do it? Why are so many sick people not healed, so many dead not raised from the dead?» A legitimate and painful question. Jesus did not heal all the sick people in Palestine. He healed some, thus signifying that he came to save all. These particular miracles point toward universal salvation. The final resurrection will promise everyone what Jairus’ daughter received temporarily: eternal life.

The challenge of faith today is not to deny medical science. The woman with the hemorrhage had consulted "many doctors." Jesus does not condemn medicine. He transcends it, complements it. Even today, we must consult doctors and use available treatments. And at the same time, we can pray for healing, encounter Christ through the sacraments, and believe that God can intervene in one way or another. Faith and reason, prayer and medicine, are not opposed but complementary.

Finally, some fear that the emphasis on faith for healing will make those who are not healed feel guilty. «If I am not healed, is it because my faith is insufficient?» No. Jesus does not say that faith automatically guarantees physical healing. He says that faith saves. And salvation goes beyond physical healing. Saint Paul prayed three times for his «thorn in the flesh» to be removed. God answered, «My grace is sufficient for you.» Sometimes God heals the illness. Sometimes he gives the strength to bear it. Always, he saves those who believe.

Prayer inspired by this dual narrative of faith and life

Lord Jesus,

You who crossed the lake to reach those who are looking for you, Come again today into our disrupted lives. We are like Jairus, overwhelmed by emergencies, or like this woman, exhausted by suffering that lasts.

You see our secret hemorrhages, These wounds drain us of all energy. You know our daughters and sons, threatened by the shadows., Our dreams are dying, our hopes are fading.

Give us the audacity of the woman who dares to touch your garment, despite our sense of unworthiness. Give us the perseverance of Jairus who believed despite the announcement of death. We want to hear your voice telling us: "My daughter, my son, your faith has saved you."«

When our trembling hands reach out to you, May your healing power penetrate us. When our hearts falter in the face of despair, May your firm word lift us up: "Do not be afraid, only believe."«

Enter our houses of mourning, dismiss the voices of mockery and despair, He takes our icy hands and says our name: «"Get up! Walk! Come back to life!"»

You are the Lord who transforms exclusion into recognition, Illness in health, death in transient sleep. You are the one who says "Talitha koum" to our sleeping souls., and that makes us walk towards the future that you are preparing.

Teach us to see in every suffering person a daughter or a son whom you love., teach us to be witnesses to your life's actions. May our communities become places where the wounded dare to approach., where the excluded regain their dignity, where the spiritually dead rise again.

Strengthen our faith, Lord., this faith that saves, that liberates, that resurrects. Not a magical faith that demands miracles, but total trust in your power of love.

And when our own time comes, when we hear the call to cross the threshold, that your "stand up" may resound in our ears, to awaken us in the light of your Kingdom.

Amen.

Faith that defies the impossible

This dual narrative leaves us with a choice. Will we live like those who mock Jesus when he says the child is asleep? Or will we become those who, despite the evidence of death and suffering, believe in the life-giving power of Christ?

The woman with the hemorrhage shows us that no situation is too dire, no suffering too chronic, no exclusion too profound to escape Christ's healing. Twelve years of bleeding, unnecessary expenses, and progressive worsening did not prevent her instantaneous recovery. Our past, however burdensome, does not determine our future with God.

Jairus teaches us that faith is not measured by the absence of fear. He was afraid for his dying daughter. But he maintained his faith despite the death sentence. Faith is not the absence of doubt or worry: it is the choice to believe despite them. It is hearing "Do not be afraid; only believe" and choosing to obey that word rather than appearances.

The two women, one ill for twelve years, the other twelve years old and dying, symbolize all the stages of human life. Whatever our situation—threatened youth or exhausted maturity—Christ comes to save us. His outstretched hand shows no partiality. His creative word knows no bounds.

The "Talitha koum" still resonates. It echoes through the centuries. It speaks to each one of us. Jesus calls us by name, tenderly, and says to us, "Arise!" Let us cease wallowing in our death, our resignation, our despair. Let us allow ourselves to be grasped by his hand. Let us walk toward the life he offers us.

Practices

Dare to make an act of faith despite the indignity you feel. The woman with the hemorrhage felt unclean, but she touched him anyway. Draw near to Christ through prayer and the sacraments without waiting to be perfect.

Maintain confidence in the face of bad news. When all seems lost, hear again: "Do not be afraid, only believe." Faith is not naivety but a deliberate choice to trust Christ more than appearances.

Publicly acknowledge what God is doing in you. Jesus compelled the woman to testify for her own liberation. Don't hide God's work in your life. Your testimony can encourage others to believe.

Dismiss the mocking and discouraged voices. Jesus drove out those who mocked him. Identify the negative thoughts in your surroundings or within yourself that undermine your faith and refuse to listen to them.

Welcome the tenderness of Christ who calls you by name. The "Talitha koum" is personal and affectionate. God doesn't treat you like a number, but like a beloved child. Let yourself be touched by this divine intimacy.

Combine prayer and concrete action. After the resurrection, Jesus asks that the young girl be given something to eat. Faith is embodied in concrete actions. Do not separate spiritual life from daily life: the two must be integrated.

Create welcoming spaces for the excluded. In your communities, be attentive to those who live in the shadows, who feel unworthy or excluded. Imitate Jesus, who restores dignity and reintegrates into the community.

References

Primary biblical sources

• Gospel according to Saint Mark, chapter 5, verses 21-43: embedded account of the two miracles
• Leviticus 15: Purity laws concerning bloodletting
• 1 Corinthians 15:20-28: Pauline theology of the resurrection

Patristic Writings

• Saint Augustine, Sermons on the Gospel of Mark : spiritual interpretation of the hemorrhoid
• Saint Cyril of Alexandria,
  

  Luke
  Commentary on the Gospel of Luke : parallels between Luke and Mark in these accounts
• Origen, Homilies on the Gospel of Luke allegorical and Christological exegesis

Magisterium and Catholic Theology

• Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 547-550: the miracles of Christ as signs of the Kingdom
• Saint Thomas Aquinas, Catena Aurea : compilation of patristic commentaries on Mark

Contemporary theological works

• Xavier Léon-Dufour, Gospel Studies, Seuil, 1965: literary and theological analysis of the Gospel narratives
• 

  Married
  Marie-Noëlle Thabut, The intelligence of Scripture, Artège, various years: accessible pastoral commentaries

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